Front Page Headlines
‘We’ve lost a generation”
Students who have been forced to carry out their education remotely in front of computer screens since March 2020 have come to the end of the process. While trade unions have described the past year as a ‘lost year’, education experts say that an entire generation has been lost.
- ‘One bicycle for two prayers a day’ – The Turkish embassy in Nicosia, the Evkaf and Department for Religious Affairs held an online Koran course. The organisers promised every child attending a bicycle in exchange for two prayers a day.
- Higher Committee (for Infectious Diseases) – Unvaccinated tourists from the south will be allowed to cross over to the north for daily visits provided they present a negative PCR test.
- Flags remain despite a decision by Higher Council for Antiquities to remove them.
Fuel oil procurement tender postponed yet again
The public tender to procure 220,000 metric tons of fuel oil, which will cover a year’s supply, was postponed for the fourth consecutive time. The decision to postpone the tender, which has turned into an endless story, just four days before the deadline, has raised suspicions and questions about whether something else is going on.
- PCR requirement lifted for passengers who are fully vaccinated – Prime Minister Ersan Saner announced the new decision that will revive the tourism sector.
He didn’t give a date
Prime Minister Ersan Saner announced they have taken a decision not to carry out PCR tests for fully vaccinated passengers arriving in the TRNC. He however didn’t clarify as to when this practice will come into force. Saner also said that they planned to reopen schools in September after vaccinating all teachers.
- A new hope – Shopkeepers in Arasta have started seeing tourists after 15 months.
- One dose is enough – 21,000 doses of Johnson & Johnson delivered by the EU.
The first step was taken for Tatar’s palace
The first step for Tayyip Erdoğan to build a new palace for Ersin Tatar is taken. The military area status for the plot of land, which the ₺14m (€1.4m) palace will be built on, has been lifted and the land was allocated to the Office of the President. The decision was published in the official gazette. The palace will be built in the area located in between Aydemet (Kermiya/ Agios Dhometios) and Ortaköy (Ortakeuy) districts.
- CTP submits motion for amendments – The Republican Turkish Party (CTP) submitted a motion for amendments in the ‘protection of the privacy of life’ law, asking for freedom of press clauses to be included.
Main News
Tatar rejects election meddling report, claims the report is part of a smearing campaign
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Diyalog, Avrupa
Governance and Power Sharing
OVERVIEW
Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar rejected the ‘election meddling’ report published by an independent working group, claiming “It is yet another operation carried out against him.” In a statement issued from his office on Friday, Tatar argued that he was able to win the presidential elections in October 2020 with his campaign based on a two-state solution model with sovereign equality.
“Those who cannot digest defeat, their supporters internally and foreign powers have launched yet another operation based on lies and slander,” Tatar said, adding that the said report was penned by a small marginal group that supported Mustafa Akıncı. He also said it is thought-provoking to see the report being published in international media, controlled by FETÖ (Fethullah Gülen Terrorist Organisation) sympathizers.
Tatar also argued that the allegations that he had won the elections with Turkey’s help and was Ankara’s puppet not only put Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot side in a difficult position internationally but also served the interest of the Greek-Greek Cypriot duo.
In the meantime, former Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akıncı expressed his disappointment over attempts to slander and quash the report. In a social media post on Friday, Akıncı said he was also surprised to hear people claim that it was the first time he had voiced and complained about Ankara’s interference in the elections.
The former Turkish Cypriot leader recalled that he had explicitly raised the issue during debate programs throughout his election campaign. He also reminded that this was not the first time such attempts of interference had taken place and that other candidates had been forced to withdraw from the race.
Akıncı also downplayed allegations that ‘foreign powers’ were behind the report. “This is not surprising at all as we have heard it many times, but what’s shocking is that those who reject the report claim this is the first time we spoke about election meddling,” he concluded.
An independent working group named “Reporting Meddling and Interference,” which is made up of Tacan Reynar, Abdullah Korkmazhan, Mine Yücel, Mine Atlı, Derya Beyatlı, and Orhan Erönen to launch a probe into allegations of election meddling immediately after the leadership elections in October 2020, published their findings documented what they deem as evidence of meddling in a 48-page long report based on information provided by journalists such as Esra Aygın, Ali Kişmir and Pınar Barut; candidates former Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akıncı and Serdar Denktaş on Thursday.
According to the findings of the report, a team from the Turkish intelligence, the Turkish embassy in north Nicosia and Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay’s media adviser managed the election campaign in favour of Ersin Tatar, who following his victory had switched the Turkish Cypriot side’s position from a federal settlement to a two-state solution.
The group when first founded in October 2020 had said their findings will be shared with international organizations, human rights groups, the UN and the EU to prevent similar actions to be repeated in the future.
21,000 doses of J&J vaccine delivered to the north
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Diyalog, Avrupa
Internal Security, CBMs
OVERVIEW
21,000 doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccines were handed over to the Turkish Cypriot health officials at the Metehan (Agios Dhometios) crossing point on Friday. The delivery was arranged through the bicommunal technical committee on health.
This was the biggest batch of vaccine shipment delivered to the north to date, Turkish Cypriot co-chair of the committee, Cenk Soydan said, adding that the north received so far 24,700 AstraZeneca vaccine doses and 10,350 Pfizer-BioNTech.
He added with Friday’s delivery that the EU’s number of doses for the Turkish Cypriot community reached 56,050. Soydan also said the north has received 190,000 doses of the Sinovac vaccine from Turkey to date.
In total 18 per cent of the population has been fully vaccinated in the north, according to statements of Turkish Cypriot Health Minister Ünal Üstel, who also noted that, including the people who are waiting for their second dose, this rate rises to 22 per cent.
He said the goal was to vaccinate 60 per cent of the population by July.
Meanwhile, Turkish Cypriot Prime Minister Ersan Saner on Friday said the PCR testing for fully vaccinated tourists upon entering the north would soon be lifted. Speaking during a meeting with the Turkish Cypriot Public Transport Companies’ Association, Saner said the decision was taken in consultation with the Higher Committee for Infectious Diseases.
Saner also added that the tourists, who are subjected to PCR testing upon arrival either via the Ercan (Tymbou) Airport or entering through the crossing points, will only be required to prove they have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19. He added the tourists will then be monitored through the QR code system.
Saner said the vaccination drive in the north will continue as well, recalling that Turkey had sent 50,000 doses of Sinovac vaccines recently and the EU 21,000 doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccines on Friday. He noted the EU will soon deliver another 20,000 doses in the coming days as well and Turkey will continue to supply the north with vaccines as well.
Arter: Famagusta Municipality working to revive Maraş (Varosha)
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Diyalog, Avrupa
Property, Territory
OVERVIEW
Turkish Cypriot Mayor of Famagusta İsmail Arter said his municipality is working on transforming the fenced-off town of Maraş (Varosha) into a normal one. Speaking during a press conference organized following the technical information exchange meeting held between the Turkish Union of Municipalities and the Turkish Cypriot one, Arter reiterated that the municipality’s work focuses only on public spaces, not touching any privately-owned properties.
“We have not touched any privately-owned properties nor will we in the future,” Arter stressed. He noted that more than 140,000 people have so far visited the recently opened beachfront in the town, adding that since the reopening of the crossing points on June 4, many Greek Cypriots also visited the town.
Arter also claimed that what had happened between 1963 and 1974 happened, adding that “What is important is how to strike an agreement to leave our children a better future. He argued that a solution must be reached by considering the other side’s viewpoint.
Arter concluded by expressing his belief that the reopening of the fenced-off town Maraş (Varosha) will contribute positively to the peace process on the island.